Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Ni Putu Timy and Devota Rahawarin weathered a semifinal scare to reach the women's final of the LA Menthol Indonesia Open beach volleyball championship here on Saturday.
Timy and Devota, the winners of the previous two legs of the series in Yogyakarta and Semarang, were a game down before regrouping to take a 19-21, 21-17, 16-14 victory over Engel Bertha Kaize and Ninik Nuraida in 49 minutes at the Surabaya Plaza parking lot.
"After the loss in the opening game, we changed tactics. I told Devota to restrain herself from showy but ineffective hard smashes. A return, though weak, if played accurately, would get points," Timy said.
Their opponents must be ruing their missed opportunity to avenge their defeat in Yogyakarta, especially after leading 12-10 and 13-11 in the deciding game thanks to Ninik's strong smashing and the poor serves of Devota.
With victory within reach, the pair suffered a fatal lapse in defense.
Timy and Devota, who earlier defeated Lim Poh Hong and Iswari of Malaysia 21-8, 21-11, will face Luk Teck Eng and Shun Bing, the surprise 21-18, 21-18 winners over second series runners-up G. Kesenee and T. Arawan of Thailand, on Sunday.
Local pairings dominated the men's tournament, with all Indonesian contests in the semifinals.
The last foreign team to exit the tournament was Ben Newton and Peter Jones. The Australians fought to the end before losing to Andi Iswahyudi and Mashudin of East Java 21-16, 15-21, 19-17 in the quarterfinals.
The Indonesians then lost to compatriots Andy Ardiansyah and Supriadi, 21-15, 21-13. The latter play Agus Salim and Koko Prasetyo, who held off Yogyakarta's Agus Himawan and Suratno for a 21-11, 19-21, 15-12 victory.
It will be the third match in the Indonesian Open to pit both pairs, with Andy and Supriadi leading 2-0.
After Sunday's finals the players will head to Jakarta for the grand finals, reserved for the top 24 teams based on rankings from the previous three legs in the series.